Amanda Knox finally freed in too far-fetched murder case

An Italian jury Monday concluded what many have long suspected: Amanda Knox was guilty of pot use and goofy insensitive behavior. But there was never sufficient evidence to prove she murdered her roommate, whom she knew only for a few weeks

THE case against former University of Washington student Amanda Knox was always just too far-fetched. A seemingly normal college girl turned she-devil. Drug-fueled sex games gone bad. Her DNA nowhere in the room where her roommate, Meredith Kercher, was killed.

An Italian jury Monday concluded what many have long suspected: Knox certainly was guilty of goofy, insensitive behavior and pot use. But there was never sufficient evidence to prove she murdered her roommate, whom she knew only a few weeks.

A lot has been written about the Italian justice system, much of it negative about the overzealous prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini. His conduct was over the top.

But say this, the Italian courts allow for two automatic appeals and the first one freed Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. Both consistently denied involvement in the case.

The 2007 murder case is a tragedy on many fronts. Kercher's family has every right to want justice for their slain beloved daughter and sister. The family has ached deeply for four years.

The family was not satisfied that there was only one person involved in the killing, a local drifter, Rudy Guede, who admitted to being at the cottage the night of the murder and whose DNA was found all over Kercher's room, on her clothes and body.

But the other tragedy is for a Seattle family and Knox, who has spent more than 1,000 days of her young life behind bars.

Knox is not entirely without fault. In the wild, media-fueled frenzy following the murder accusations, she falsely accused a bar owner, Patrick Lumumba, for whom she worked at the time and caused him undue pain and suffering.

Still, it is time for Knox to come back to Seattle and resume her life. There are defamation cases and costs still to be determined. Her family is undoubtedly changed forever, if not completely without funds.

But there is a huge sense of relief now within the UW community, in West Seattle where the Knox family lived and for parents of college students everywhere. This case always seemed like a bad novel and somewhat, somehow, overblown and distorted.